10 Ways to Lose Weight Without “Dieting”

Here at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers we know the struggles of trying to lose weight. Losing weight is made all the more confusing and difficult due to so many different, and often conflicting, schools of thought about what works and doesn’t work. Should you eat a low-carb or low-fat diet? Or should you eat 6 meals a day or do intermittent fasting? Our personal trainer here in Abu Dhabi believe that to help shed those pounds you should not look at your new way of eating as a “diet” but rather a new “lifestyle”. To help you lose weight, the key is making simple tweaks to your lifestyle – all of the tweaks will add up to cutting down your weight. Adopt one or more of these simple, painless strategies to help you lose weight without going on a “diet”:

Eat breakfast every day. It is common belief that skipping breakfast if a great way to cut down on calories, however, studies have shown that you end up eating more through the day. Our personal trainers recommend eating a bowl of whole-grain cereal like oats and topping it with fruit or wholegrain bread with avocado and eggs.

Close your panty and fridge at night. Establish a time when you will stop eating at night – this will help set boundaries for late-night snacking and mindless munching. Our personal trainers recommend brushing your teeth after your final meal of the day as it will make you less likely to eat or drinking anything more.

Be careful of liquid calories. Sweetened drinks are often full of empty calories – this means that they will not fill you up or help reduce your hunger like solid foods do. Instead of sweetened drinks opt for water, sparkling water or unsweetened teas. Also, be aware of alcohol calories, which will add up very quickly! Our personal trainers recommend limiting alcohol to a few nights a week instead of every night.

Avoid packaged food. The best food to eat are the foods that do not come packaged with a label – think fruits and vegetables. Think of starting your meals with a salad or soup and having most of your plate full of vegetables.

Go for whole grain. Substitute refined grains for whole grains. This will give you much needed fibre and will fill you up faster. Our fitness trainers recommend whole-wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, bran flakes, popcorn, and whole-rye crackers.

Get more active. This does not mean exercise for hours on end but rather get more active with your everyday life. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest of the way or pace while talking on your phone. This can also mean making time to play with your children or walk the dog.

Drink more water. Often when we think we are hungry we are actually dehydrated – always try to carry a water bottle around with you and have a glass of water before every meal.

All of these simple tweaks will help you in your weight loss journey.